Government Agencies Turn to Outsourcing for Assistance

It is no longer a new topic for outsourcing industry experts and spectators that government offices in different countries across the globe are already venturing out to outsourcing. Outsourcing has proven to be of help when it comes to streamlining a set of processes for an office and with the bulk of government agencies’ tasks, it would be a strategic and reasonable move if they seek the assistance of an outsourcing solutions provider. Despite the openness of government agencies to engage with an outsourcing partner, it seems that there are only a handful of providers that are being approached by government offices. It is understandable as the requirements of handling government tasks looks like it requires a higher level of security and that there are huge risks with public contracts.

A town in California, United States has expressed an interest in seeking the assistance of an outsourcing company. Atherton City Council is seen to engage in an outsourcing contract with Interwest Consulting Group, wherein the latter will be providing services that are being covered by the former’s building department staff. According to the Interim City Manager of Atherton, the council will be able to save $350,000 in its decision to outsource their public works services.

On another note, CSC’s (NYSE:CSC) wholly-owned subsidiary, Computer Sciences Canada, has signed an outsourcing agreement with Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC). The agreement, which will be in effect on September 2011, will involve administrative support in facilitating successful visa application submissions in the Latin America region. Since there is a high number of visa applications coming from the Latin America region, Citizenship and Immigration Canada has tapped the services of Computer Sciences Canada to assist them in processing temporary resident visas and handling permit and travel document applications for tourists. Cases like this point out that an influx of work arriving at the doors of the Canadian government agency has pushed them to seek outsourcing; the reason behind seeking the assistance of an outsourcing partner is not entirely driven by the company or agency’s plans of keeping the budget healthy, but also due to the bulk of work coming towards their direction.

It is top priority for companies and institutions to provide exemplary service to their customers and clients. This is the reason why most of them enter a partnership with a solutions provider which can help them in keeping their processes in line. A few days ago, an announcement was made regarding NHIC Corp., a subsidiary of HP (NYSE:HPQ), being awarded a contract amounting to $72.3 million with U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services. The contract, which will span across a five-year period, will cover claims processing, medical review, medical policy, appeals processing and customer service. The processes that will be delegated to NHIC Corp. is aimed at addressing payment accuracy challenges, among others.

With the recent news that different outsourcing services are being tapped by government institutions today, from public services to customer service, it can be said that the government agencies from different regions have begun embracing the concept of outsourcing.